Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) has gained significant interest as a transducer in various electrochemical sensing devices due to their unique structure, compatibility with biomolecules, and excellent electronic properties. As-prepared SWNTs are usually a mixture of semiconducting and metallic ones. Despite of the higher content of semiconducting components in mixed SWNTs, metallic properties are predominantly expressed due to the bundling issue of the SWNT during the fabrication process, limiting the applicability to bio-transistor application. Here, we present a multi-scale semiconducting electronic film of SWNTs as a transducing platform for electrochemical field-effect-transistor (eFET) suitable for the sensitive detection of subtle biological modulation. A genetically engineered filamentous M13 phage showing strong binding affinity toward SWNTs on its body surface was used as a biological material, allowing us to fabricate a large-scale transparent semiconducting nanocomposite. As the relative ratio of SWNT to M13 phage decreases, the on–off ratio of SWNT electronic film increases by 1200%. To show broad applicability, the multi-scale SWNT nanomesh-based eFET is applied for monitoring a variety of biological reactions in association with enzymes, aptamers, and even cyanobacteria. The biomimetic electronic material system with the capability of transducing biological responses at a large scale over a broad dynamic range holds excellent promise for biosensors, biofuel cells, and environment monitoring.
The effects of fast neutron irradiation on the electrical and optical properties of Li (3 at%) doped ZnSnO (ZTO) thin films fabricated using a sol-gel process are investigated. From the results of Li-ZTO TFT characteristics according to change of neutron irradiation time, the saturation mobility is found to increase and threshold voltage values shift to a negative direction from 1,000 s neutron irradiation time. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the O 1s core level shows that the relative area of oxygen vacancies is almost unchanged with different irradiation times. From the results of band alignment, it is confirmed that, due to the increase of electron carrier concentration, the Fermi level (EF) of the sample irradiated for 1,000 s is located at the position closest to the conduction band minimum. The increase in electron concentration is considered by looking at the shallow band edge state under the conduction band edge formed by fast neutron irradiation of more than 1,000 s.
We demonstrated a CNT synaptic transistor by integrating 6,6-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester(PCBM) molecules as charge storage molecules in a polyimide(PI) dielectric layer with carbon nanotubes(CNTs) for the transistor channel. Specifically, we fabricated and compared three different kinds of CNT-based synaptic transistors: a control device with Al2O3/PI, a single PCBM device with Al2O3/PI:PCBM(0.1 wt%), and a double PCBM device with Al2O3/PI:PCBM(0.1 wt%)/PI:PCBM(0.05 wt%). Statistically, essential device parameters such as Off and On currents, On/Off ratio, device yield, and longterm retention stability for the three kinds of transistor devices were extracted and compared. Notably, the double PCBM device exhibited the most excellent memory transistor behavior. Pulse response properties with postsynaptic dynamic current were also evaluated. Among all of the testing devices, double PCBM device consumed such low power for stand-by and its peak current ratio was so large that the postsynaptic current was also reliably and repeatedly generated. Postsynaptic hole currents through the CNT channel can be generated by electrons trapped in the PCBM molecules and last for a relatively short time(~ hundreds of msec). Under one certain testing configuration, the electrons trapped in the PCBM can also be preserved in a nonvolatile manner for a long-term period. Its integrated platform with extremely low stand-by power should pave a promising road toward next-generation neuromorphic systems, which would emulate the brain power of 20W.
The effects of electron beam(EB) irradiation on the electrical and optical properties of InGaZnO(IGZO) thin films fabricated using a sol-gel process were investigated. As the EB dose increased, the electrical characteristic of the IGZO TFTs changed from semiconductor to conductor, and the threshold voltage values shifted to the negative direction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the O 1s core level showed that the relative area of oxygen vacancies increased from 14.68 to 19.08 % as the EB dose increased from 0 to 1.5 × 1016 electrons/cm2. In addition, spectroscopic ellipsometer analysis showed that the optical band gap varied from 3.39 to 3.46 eV with increasing EB dose. From the result of band alignment, it was confirmed that the Fermi level(EF) of the sample irradiated with 1.5 × 1016 electrons/cm2 was located at the closest position to the conduction band minimum(CBM) due to the increase of electron carrier concentration
The effect of electron beam (EB) irradiation on the electrical properties of Zn-Sn-O (ZTO) thin films fabricated using a sol-gel process was investigated. As the EB dose increased, the saturation mobility of ZTO thin film transistors (TFTs) was found to slightly decrease, and the subthreshold swing and on/off ratio degenerated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the O 1s core level showed that the relative area of oxygen vacancies (VO) increased from 10.35 to 12.56 % as the EB dose increased from 0 to 7.5 × 1016 electrons/cm2. Also, spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis showed that the optical band gap varied from 3.53 to 3.96 eV with increasing EB dose. From the results of the electrical property and XPS analyses of the ZTO TFTs, it was found that the electrical characteristic of the ZTO thin films changed from semiconductor to conductor with increasing EB dose. It is thought that the electrical property change is due to the formation of defect sites like oxygen vacancies.
We have investigated the properties of thin film transistors(TFT) fabricated using zinc tin oxide(ZTO) thin films deposited via on-axis sputtering and FTS methods. ZTO thin films deposited by FTS showed lower root-mean-square(RMS) roughness and more uniformity than those deposited via on-axis sputtering. We observed enhanced electrical properties of ZTO TFT deposited via FTS. The ZTO films were deposited at room temperature via on-axis sputtering and FTS. The as-deposited ZTO films were annealed at 400 oC. The TFT using the ZTO films deposited via FTS process exhibited a high mobility of 12.91 cm2/V.s, a low swing of 0.80 V/decade, Vth of 5.78 V, and a high Ion/off ratio of 2.52 × 106.
Herein, we describe the effect of the cooling-off condition of a solution-processed 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) film on its molecular distribution and the resultant electrical properties. Since the solvent in a TIPS-pentacene droplet gradually evaporates from the rim to the center exhibiting a radial form of solute, for a quenched case, domains of the TIPS-pentacene film are aboriginally spread showing original features of radial shape due to suppressed molecular rearrangement during the momentary cooling period. For the slowly cooled case, however, TIPS-pentacene molecules are randomly rearranged during the long cooling period. As a result, in the lopsided electrodes structure proposed in this work, the charge transport generates more effectively under the case for radial distribution induced by the quenching technique. It was found that the molecular redistribution during the cooling-period plays an important role on the magnitude of the mobility in a solution-processed organic transistor. This work provides at least a scientific basis between the molecular distribution and electrical properties in solution-processed organic devices.
To obtain the transistor with ambipolar transfer characteristics, IGZO/SiOC thin film transistor was prepared on SiOC with various polarities as a gate insulator. The interface between a channel and insulator showed the Ohmic and Schottky contacts in the bias field of -5V ~ +5V. These contact characteristics depended on the polarities of SiOC gate insulators. The transfer characteristics of TFTs were observed the Ohmic contact on SiOC with polarity, but Schottky contact on SiOC with low polarity. The IGZO/SiOC thin film transistor with a Schottky contact in a short range bias electric field exhibited ambipolar transfer characteristics, but that with Ohmic contact in a short range electric field showed unipolar characteristics by the trapping phenomenon due to the trapped ionized defect formation.
Controlling the stick and slip motions of the contact lines in a confined geometry comprised of a spherical lens with a flat substrate is useful for manufacturing polymer ring patterns. We used a sphere on a flat geometry, by which we could control the interfaces of the solution, vapor and substrate. By this method, hundreds of concentric ring-pattern formations of a linear conjugated polymer, poly [2-methoxy-5-(2-thylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), were generated with excellent regularity over large areas after complete solvent evaporation. Subsequently, the MEH-PPV ring patterns played a role as a directed template to organize highly regular concentric rings of single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs); when a droplet of the SWCNT suspension in water was casted onto the prepared substrate, hydrophobic polymer patterns confined the water dispersed SWCNTs in between the hydrophilicized SiO2/Si substrate. As the solvent evaporated, SWCNT-rings were formed in between MEH-PPV rings with controlled density. Finally, we used a lift-off process to produce SWCNT patterns by the removal of a sacrificial polymer template with organic solvent. We also fabricated a field effect transistor using self-assembled SWCNT networks on a SiO2/Si substrate.
The bio-organic thin film transistor (BiOTFT) with the DNA and DNA-surfactant complex as a
dielectric layer shows memory function. In order to investigate the effect of surfactant structure on the OTFT memory device performance, different kinds of surfactant were introduced. The octadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (OTMA), ctyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA), or lauroylcholine chloride (Lau) as cationic surfactant as mixed with DNA to prepare the DNA complex through the electrostatic interaction. In addition, the different molecular weight DNA also has been studied to analyze the effect of DNA chain length on the performance of the physical property. Many kinds of methods including UV-vis, Circular dichiroism (CD), I-V characteristic and atomic force microscope (AFM) have been applied to analyze the property of DNA complex. In conclusion, all of DNA complex with CTMA, OTMA and Lau revealed to work as the bio-organic thin film transistor memory, and the device fabricated by Lau has the highest ON current and showed better device performance.
Currently, graphene is a topic of very active research in fields from science to potential applications. For various radio-frequency (RF) circuit applications including low-noise amplifiers, the unique ambipolar nature of graphene field-effect transistors can be utilized for high-performance frequency multipliers, mixers and high-speed radiometers. Potential integration of graphene on Silicon substrates with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatibility would also benefit future RF systems. The future success of the RF circuit applications depends on vertical and lateral scaling of graphene metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors to minimize parasitics and improve gate modulation efficiency in the channel. In this paper, we highlight recent progress in graphene materials, devices, and circuits for RF applications. For passive RF applications, we show its transparent electromagnetic shielding in Ku-band and transparent antenna, where its success depends on quality of materials. We also attempt to discuss future applications and challenges of graphene.
Si Nanowire (NW) field effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated on hard Si and flexible polyimide (PI) substrates, and their electrical characteristics were compared. Si NWs used as channels were synthesized by electroless etching method at low temperature, and these NWs were refined using a centrifugation method to get the NWs to have an optimal diameter and length for FETs. The gate insulator was poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP), prepared using a spin-coating method on the PI substrate. Gold was used as electrodes whose gap was 8 μm. These gold electrodes were deposited using a thermal evaporator. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the device were measured using a semiconductor analyzer, HP-4145B. The electrical properties of the device were characterized through hole mobility, Ion/Ioff ratio and threshold voltage. The results showed that the electrical properties of the TFTs on PVP were similar to those of TFTs on SiO2. The bending durability of SiNWs TFTs on PI substrate was also studied with increasing bending times. The results showed that the electrical properties were maintained until the sample was folded about 500 times. But, after more than 1000 bending tests, drain current showed a rapid decrease due to the defects caused by the roughness of the surface of the Si NWs and mismatches of the Si NWs with electrodes.
Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) thin films were deposited onto 300 nm-thick oxidized Si substrates and glass substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering of IGZO targets at room temperature. FESEM and XRD analyses indicate that non-annealed and annealed IGZO thin films exhibit an amorphous structure. To investigate the effect of an annealing treatment, the films were thermally treated at 300˚C for 1hr in air. The IGZO TFTs structure was a bottom-gate type in which electrodes were deposited by the DC magnetron sputtering of Ti and Au targets at room temperature. The non-annealed and annealed IGZO TFTs exhibit an Ion/Ioff ratio of more than 105. The saturation mobility and threshold voltage of nonannealed IGZO TFTs was 4.92×10-1cm2/V·s and 1.46V, respectively, whereas these values for the annealed TFTs were 1.49×10-1cm2/V· and 15.43V, respectively. It is believed that an increase in the surface roughness after an annealing treatment degrades the quality of the device. The transmittances of the IGZO thin films were approximately 80%. These results demonstrate that IGZO thin films are suitable for use as transparent thin film transistors (TTFTs).
Electrical properties of multi-channel metal-induced unilaterally precrystallized polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistor (MIUP poly-Si TFT) devices and circuits were investigated. Although their structure was integrated into small area, reducing annealing process time for fuller crystallization than that of conventional crystal filtered MIUP poly-Si TFTs, the multi-channel MIUP poly-Si TFTs showed the effect of crystal filtering. The multi-channel MIUP poly-Si TFTs showed a higher carrier mobility of more than 1.5 times that of the conventional MIUP poly-Si TFTs. Moreover, PMOS inverters consisting of the multi-channel MIUP poly-Si TFTs showed high dynamic performance compared with inverters consisting of the conventional MIUP poly-Si TFTs.
Organic semiconductors based on conjugated thiophene oligomer have great potential to be utilized as an active layer for electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this study, a conjugated oligomer such as α-sexithiophene (α-6T) thin films was prepared by the Organic Molecular Beam Deposition (OMBD), and various electrode materials were also deposited by a simple vacuum evaporation, respectively. Those films were photolithographically patterned for the electrical measurements. Electrical charact-erization of the thin film transistor with various channel length were executed and the field effect mobility of these thin film transistors were also calculated by the formula using the experimental data.
AIGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transisters(HEMT)소자의 오믹 접합재료로 일반적으로 사용되고 있는 AuGeNi의 접합저항과 열적 안정성을 향상시키기 위한 새로운 접합재료에 대해 연구하였다. 이를 위해 sub/M1Au-Ge/M2Au의 구조에서 M1을 Ni과 Pd, M2를 Ni, Ti, Mo로 하였을 경우의 접합 재료에 대한 오믹 접합 특성의 변화를 조사하였다. 또한 일반 열처리로와 램프 히터를 이용한 고속 열처리에 따른 오믹 특성을 조사하였다. M1을 Ni에서 Pd으로 대체하였을 경우 접합 저항은 약간 증가하였으며 접합 특성의 개선을 관찰되지 않았다. M2를 Ni에서 Ti이나 Mo로 대치하였을 경우, 접합 저항은 감소하였고 열적 안정성과 접합 형상은 현저히 개선되었다. 특히 Ni/Au-Ge/Mo/Au의 접합재료는 급속 열처리에 의해 -0.1Ωmm의 극히 낮은 잡합 저항과 우수한 접합 형상을 갖는 것으로 조사되었다.